Item not shipped after 3 weeks

[gatownsend]

Hi Everyone,

Trying to figure out what to do about an item that hasn't shipped.  I purchased said item on March 26th with a Buy It Now transaction.  Estimated delivery was April 2nd.  Card was charged March 26th and a shipping label created, and nothing since then.  The seller emailed me as soon as the card was charged thanking me for purchase and indicating despite the pandemic they were operating normally, but put a caveat on that statement saying they can't control what others may be experiencing.  Shipping method was USPS.

After a week with no shipment I emailed asking for an update, and seller wrote back quickly indicating they use a 3rd party to stage and ship, and said third party was experiencing delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  I thanked them for the update and waited.  It's now been another two weeks and still no shipment (so three weeks total waiting for them to ship). 

I wrote the seller Friday saying while I appreciated we're in an unusual situation, I specifically picked their item over others due to the expected delivery date.  At this point it's been three weeks and it still hasn't shipped, and I asked them to cancel the order and process a refund.  I haven' t heard anything back yet, but it's been two days since I messaged.  Because of the weekend I was giving them until Monday to respond before trying something else.  I don't want to make a big fuss about this or give negative feedback.  I understand things happen - I just want the order cancelled and a refund so I can go elsewhere.  

Thoughts on what else I can try?  I just want to be ready in case I don't hear back from them in a timely manner.

Thanks,

Gary

[emerald_door]

Do you have a tracking number?  If not, or if the tracking does not indicate that the package is in the possession of the postal service, file an Item Not Received case with eBay.  Since it's past the estimated delivery date, you'll get a refund.  

If the tracking shows that it's moving through the postal system, you might want to give it more time.  

[orangehound]

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@gatownsend wrote:

After a week with no shipment I emailed asking for an update, and seller wrote back quickly indicating they use a 3rd party to stage and ship, and said third party was experiencing delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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This sounds like a retail drop-shipper.  If so, your "seller" simply takes your money and then buys it cheaper from Walmart or Amazon or Home Depot and has it shipped to you, pocketing the difference in price.   Retail drop shipping is not allowed on eBay because it can provide deceptive customer service, such as what you are experiencing.   Because the "seller" doesn't have the product in hand, they have to wait until their big box has the item back in stock, which will likely not be happening any time soon. 

(Alternatively, the seller is from China and has a long handling time ... they tend to ship the product to a warehouse in the USA, and then to you).

If I were you, I would file an Item Not Received claim to get refunded, and then buy it directly from a seller that actually has the product in stock.

[mudshark61369]

@gatownsend,

  "seller wrote back quickly indicating they use a 3rd party to stage and ship, and said third party was experiencing delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic."

That sounds like you have bought from either a New seller or a chinese one. Does the tracking number indicate awaiting delivery from shipping partner, if so the seller and/or item is located in China.  New seller's run into PayPal's 21 day hold on payments and do not know how to deal with it and usually do not use shipping partners if U.S. based.

Did you check their feedback profile before buying from them? On their profile page it should say what country they are registered in. Though that sometimes is not where the seller is located. You can also click on the numbers of negative and neutral feedback they have received to read only those comments. Look for slow shipping or non delivery, or items shipped from China.  as well as other problems. Chinese sellers also often try and stall people into letting the time frame for filing Money Back Guarantee (MBG) disputes pass, with reasonable sounding excuses.

Since it has been so long since the item was supposed to arrive File an Item Not Received dispute.  eBay will give the seller 3 days to reply and if they do not or offer to ship a replacement ask them to step in, and you will get a refund.

  "At this point it's been three weeks and it still hasn't shipped, and I asked them to cancel the order and process a refund".

You should never do that. It removes the possibility of you leaving a negative feedback.  Chinese sellers usually ignore those messages anyway.

  " I don't want to make a big fuss about this or give negative feedback. I understand things happen - I just want the order cancelled and a refund so I can go elsewhere".

If you find that the seller misrepresented the item location and has done it to others, you should leave appropriate feedback. They cannot retaliate. Do not call a seller names, stick to the facts.

Since you are not a very experienced ebay user read the list of things below to help identify foreign based sellers claiming to be based or ship from the U.S.

Here are some more indications on listing pages;

1. Item location not giving a city or state Ex. Ca. /USA, Many places USA, USA/USA.
2. Extended delivery or handling time frames. Especially, from supposed U.S. based sellers.
3. Very low prices w/ Free shipping
4. American flag symbols and many statements of being a U.S. Seller
5. The same photos and listing templates used by many other sellers

On feedback profile pages;

1. Country of registration ... sometimes.
2. Very high volume seller registered between 2010 and now.
3. Feedback percentages below 99.8%
4. Neutral and negative feedback sometimes in the hundreds  (you can click on those numbers to read only those comments)  look for slow shipping, non delivery,  partial orders received, and items shipped from China comments, as well as poor quality ones.
5. Replies to non positive feedback that indicate English is not the persons first language
6. Repetitive replies to non-positive feedback
7. Asian models in photos

[orangehound]

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@mudshark61369 wrote:

Here are some more indications on listing pages;

1. Item location not giving a city or state Ex. Ca. /USA, Many places USA, USA/USA.
2. Extended delivery or handling time frames. Especially, from supposed U.S. based sellers.
3. Very low prices w/ Free shipping
4. American flag symbols and many statements of being a U.S. Seller
5. The same photos and listing templates used by many other sellers

---

hahaha ... that #4 is so true.  Every time I see an American Flag on the main picture with the words "US Seller", then it is almost always a seller from China.   I just avoid those listings now.

[soh.maryl]

Per eBay's Money Back Guarantee, a buyer CAN open an item not received case within a few days of the last estimated delivery date if he has not received his item by that time.

In view of the current crisis, I think most of us would give it a little more time than that to arrive, like maybe another week to 10 days.

According to the estimated delivery date you posted here, you have now given this about 15-16 days to arrive.

More than enough time allotted IMHO.  Time to open a case.  

[gatownsend]

Thanks folks,

A few tidbits to respond to questions above.  I have a USPS tracking number.  Checking it yields the following:

• Mar 28, 2020
• 4:58pm

• Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending
• CAROL STREAM, IL 60199

Because it said "Shipment Received" I initially reached out to USPS after a week and they indicated that only a label had been printed, but the item hadn't been delivered to them.  When I initially reached out to the seller, they indicated the same and that the item was with the 3rd party they use to pack and ship.

And I think I now have my answer.  When I initially purchased from them they had almost 100% positive feedback.  Not a huge number of transactions (about 25), but nothing suspicious.  I just went and checked their profile now and there are 25 negatives in the last month, and all appear to be related to the same item I purchased.  

The thing I noticed after waiting was when I purchased this there were only a couple available.  After I purchased, the number available increased to 245.  I thought that was odd given the low number of transactions this seller had.  And they were like me - a mix of purchase and sales made up their previous activity.  That quantity seemed high for someone that has previously done one-off transactions, but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.  One negative review in particular caught my attention: "Item never shipped, seller made excuses about 3rd party shipper. Stopped replying" - sounds just like me.  Sigh.

Thanks - I'll go ahead and file my claim instead of waiting any longer.  I just looked at the item and it now says "6 available/244 sold" - if that's accurate I suspect a lot of negative reviews are yet the come.  The item is still active and can still be purchased as of right now.

Thanks,

Gary

Gary

[gatownsend]

I just went to my dashboard and selected "Item not received".  I requested the refund.  It indicated I had to wait three days before involving customer service, so I guess at this point I've got another three days to wait.  

Thanks everyone,

Gary

[myboardid]

Regarding what orangehound said above about the seller buying from a retailer and having it shipped to you, the buyer. It is quite possible that this is correct. However, it can also be that the seller has a legitimate, allowable relationship with a dropshipping company. That company has run out of stock so cannot fill the order, or else cannot ship because they have been shut down due to the current virus crisis. If the product itself comes from overseas, the dropshipper cannot get more until international shipping opens up again. There are many possible scenarios. In any case, getting your refund is the correct procedure.